UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K Annual Report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 Commission file number 1-5837 THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) New York 13-1102020 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 556-1234 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered Class A Common Stock of $.10 par value New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Not Applicable Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ¨ No þ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large accelerated filer þ Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨ Smaller reporting company ¨ ¨ Emerging growth company If an emerging growth company, indicate by the check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No þ The aggregate worldwide market value of Class A Common Stock held by non-affiliates, based on the closing price on June 25, 2017 , the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange, was approximately $2.7 billion. As of such date, non- affiliates held 66,205 shares of Class B Common Stock. There is no active market for such stock. The number of outstanding shares of each class of the registrant’s common stock as of February 23, 2018 (exclusive of treasury shares), was as follows: 164,017,902 shares of Class A Common Stock and 803,763 shares of Class B Common Stock. Documents incorporated by reference Portions of the Proxy Statement relating to the registrant’s 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be held on April 19, 2018 , are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report. INDEX TO THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY 2017 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K ITEM NO. PART I Forward-Looking Statements 1 1 Business 1 Overview 1 Products 2 Subscriptions and Audience 2 Advertising 3 Competition 4 Other Businesses 4 Print Production and Distribution 4 Raw Materials 5 Employees and Labor Relations 5 Available Information 5 1A Risk Factors 6 1B Unresolved Staff Comments 14 2 Properties 15 3 Legal Proceedings 15 4 Mine Safety Disclosures 15 Executive Officers of the Registrant 16 PART II 5 Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder 17 Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 6 Selected Financial Data 19 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of 23 Financial Condition and Results of Operations 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 47 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 48 9 Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on 106 Accounting and Financial Disclosure 9A Controls and Procedures 106 9B Other Information 106 PART III 10 Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 107 11 Executive Compensation 107 12 Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and 107 Management and Related Stockholder Matters 13 Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 108 14 Principal Accountant Fees and Services 108 PART IV 15 Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 109 16 Form 10-K Summary 111 Signatures 112 PART I FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the sections titled “Item 1A — Risk Factors” and “Item 7 —Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains forward-looking statements that relate to future events or our future financial performance. We may also make written and oral forward-looking statements in our Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings and otherwise. We have tried, where possible, to identify such statements by using words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “will,” “could,” “project,” “plan” and similar expressions in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Any forward-looking statements are and will be based upon our then-current expectations, estimates and assumptions regarding future events and are applicable only as of the dates of such statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in any such statements. You should bear this in mind as you consider forward-looking statements. Factors that we think could, individually or in the aggregate, cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results include those described in “Item 1A — Risk Factors” below, as well as other risks and factors identified from time to time in our SEC filings. ITEM 1. BUSINESS OVERVIEW The New York Times Company (the “Company”) was incorporated on August 26, 1896, under the laws of the State of New York. The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries are referred to collectively in this Annual Report on Form 10-K as “we,” “our” and “us.” We are a global media organization focused on creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and information. Our continued commitment to premium content and journalistic excellence makes The New York Times brand a trusted source of news and information for readers and viewers across various platforms. Recognized widely for the quality of our reporting and content, our publications have been awarded many industry and peer accolades, including 122 Pulitzer Prizes and citations, more than any other news organization. The Company includes newspapers, print and digital products and investments. We have one reportable segment with businesses that include: • our newspaper, The New York Times (“The Times”); • our websites, including NYTimes.com; • our mobile applications, including The Times’s core news applications, as well as interest-specific applications, including our Crossword and Cooking products; and • related businesses, such as The Times news services division; our product review and recommendation website, Wirecutter; our digital archive distribution; NYT Live (our live events business); our digital marketing agencies and other products and services under The Times brand. We generate revenues principally from subscriptions and advertising. Subscription revenues consist of revenues from subscriptions to our print and digital products (which include our news products, as well as our Crossword and Cooking products) and single-copy sales of our print newspaper. Advertising revenue is derived from the sale of our advertising products and services on our print and digital platforms. Revenue information for the Company appears under “Item 7 — Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Revenues, operating profit and identifiable assets of our foreign operations are not significant. During 2017, we continued to make significant investments in our journalism, while taking further steps to position our organization to operate more efficiently in a digital environment. During the year, The Times continued to break stories and produce investigative reports that sparked global conversations on wide-ranging topics. We also launched groundbreaking digital journalism projects and a popular daily news podcast, The Daily, and created THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY – P. 1 special inserts in our print newspaper, including a monthly section dedicated to children. In addition, we continued to create innovative digital advertising solutions across our platforms and expand our creative services offerings. We believe that the significant growth over the last year in subscriptions to our products demonstrates the success of our “subscription-first” strategy and the willingness of our readers to pay for high-quality journalism. We had approximately 3.6 million subscriptions to our products as of December 31, 2017, more than at any point in our history.